Traditional training methods where you would invite a speaker to give a lengthy lecture to your employees about boring theories is a thing of the past. Now, most industries are moving towards a more dynamic approach that encourages the individuals working in their organization to get completely immersed in the training session and gain all the knowledge they need to tackle a problem in real life. In the quest to make training more interactive and fruitful, many organizations have opted for simulation training.
Simulation training is an approach used in learning and development programs in which the participant is given lifelike scenarios but in a controlled environment. They learn from close-to-real experiences by completely immersing themselves in the process of learning. This training approach focuses on helping individuals learn nuance concepts practically, helping them better implement them in their daily lives. One major industry that has significantly benefited from simulation training is healthcare. If you are a stakeholder in the healthcare industry and want to introduce simulation training in your organization, here is what you need to know.
What is the Role of Simulation Training in the Healthcare Industry?
Simulation training helps healthcare professionals refine their core competencies and master Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs). Being well-versed with EPAs is essential for a medical professional to ensure that they can perform critical medical tasks with expertise. Moreover, before performing critical tasks on actual patients, simulation training allows them to practice it on dummy patients to ensure there is no room for error.
In the medical industry, one wrong step will put the life of the patient at stake. This is why simulation training is very important. Through this approach, stakeholders can ensure that the professionals have first-hand experience with critical tasks and situations before facing them in real life.
Another added role of simulation training is that it is not just for critical tasks but also enhances patient and healthcare-professional interaction. For instance, for a layman, understanding and deciphering their medical reports is difficult. Only a healthcare professional who has ample knowledge in the field is capable of conveying the right message to the patient. But for this, you need great communication skills, which may not be something intrinsic to every individual. Hence, with this approach, professionals can be assisted in improving their soft skills and interpersonal skills.
What are the Basic Components of Simulation-Based Learning?
Simulation means “mimicking” a real-life situation that helps deliver experiences that are close to real. Hence, a simulation-based training session must have the following key components:
- The environment: Simulation training must replicate a real-world scenario either physically or digitally.
- The scenario: In simulation training, a scenario must be created in which the participant is encouraged to solve a problem or perform a task under pressure but in a controlled environment.
- Role play: Simulation training must put the participant in different shoes to help them get a better understanding of how they can tackle the same issue in different scenarios.
- Supervision: Simulation training must take place under the supervision of an experienced professional. The supervisor may set up a scenario and guide you and your teammates through the situation.
- Reflection upon the actions taken: Once the participants emerge from the life-like scenarios, a structured system must be created where they reflect on their actions. They must be asked questions, and they must write or speak about their experience so the supervisor can better guide them.
- No pre-determined solutions: Simulation training is usually open-ended and doesn’t have a predetermined result. Simulation training works a great deal with the complex emotions of a human being. Therefore, it is possible that a situation may have several reactions, all leading toward the ultimate outcome.
How Can One Incorporate Simulation Training in the Health Care Industry?
Simulation training has numerous benefits when you implement it with the best practices in mind. Here are a few ways in which one can use simulation training in the healthcare industry:
- Virtual Reality: Virtual reality is a digital setting where the learner is given a scenario close to real life. In the healthcare industry, budding therapists can use virtual reality to enhance their interaction with patients. For instance, empathy is a crucial virtue that mental health care providers need in order to establish trust in their patients' minds. In such a situation, one can use virtual reality to gain insights into how they can respond to their patient’s hardships, helping them refine their skills.
- Full-Scale Simulators: Full-scale simulators are mannequins that replicate a real patient. The stimulators can respond physically to the actions of the participant. Hence, this method is widely used for surgical training and diagnoses.
- Partial Task Trainer: Partial task trainers are stimulators that facilitate the learning of specific clinical skills. For instance, endotracheal intubation is a complex task, and without practicing it in an artificially simulated environment, it is impossible to perform it on a patient.
How Can the Healthcare Industry Benefit from Simulation-Based Learning?
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Realistic Learning Experience
Experiences make a person wiser. Simulation training takes this seriously and ensures that healthcare professionals have authentic and realistic learning experiences. These experiences instill in the professionals a sense of confidence that if a similar situation arises in real life, they will be able to tackle it confidently.
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Allows Them to Receive Immediate Feedback
Another great thing about simulation learning is that you don’t have to wait a long time for feedback. The results are always in front of you, and it is easy to self-access how you have performed and how you can improve. Moreover, often, the instructor provides real-time feedback, which helps you take the right step and navigate through the task with ease.
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Reduces Risks
In a high-risk industry like healthcare, simulation training is a way in which one can minimize the risk of “not being experienced enough.” The real-life consequences of committing a mistake can be grave in the healthcare industry. However, when the same task is performed in a controlled environment that is artificially simulated, the dangers are nominal. This allows the participants to get a first-hand experience without actually putting anybody’s life at risk.
Increase the Level of Preparedness in the Healthcare Industry
Simulation training is not just another boring training session. It requires active participation from the individuals and rapid brainstorming to navigate through the complex challenges that appear.
In the healthcare industry, decision-making must be thorough but rapid because a delay of even a minute can lead to someone losing their life. Hence, with simulation training, stakeholders in the healthcare industry can improve the preparedness of their employees and enhance their critical thinking power so that they can attend to the people in need with appropriate care promptly.
